Y/n's POV
We were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated us as if we'd won the Olympics. According to camp custom, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.
Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful-gray silk with embroidered owls-Percy told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it, she punched him, and I laughed.
Percy being the son of Poseidon, and no one knowing what I was, neither of us had cabin mates. So instead the Ares kids volunteered to make our shrouds. They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed out eyes around the border, and painted word LOSER on Percy's and PUNK on mine, right on the center.
Definitely entertaining to watch go up in flames.
As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, Percy was surrounded by the Hermes cabin, Annabeth with her siblings from Athena's cabin, and Grover with his satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license. Some may have told me that it was sad that no one piled around me. But I didn't feel that way, I just felt content. I didn't need a crowd to feel that. I was happy how it was. My friends surrounded by their people, celebrating our victory. While I got to enjoy quietly from the sidelines.
And even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brats didn't get themselves killed and now they'll have even bigger heads. Well huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday . . ."
Dionysus continued to buzz on for a moment, until Chiron walked up the steps. When me, Annabeth, and Grover had told him everything that had happened on our quest, he was the first to know about my mom. I had expected him to be shocked, but he merely smiled lightly, as if he knew something more. Regardless he had said that he would make an announcement about it later when everyone had gathered. And I had been dreading it all day, right up till now.
Dionysus and Chiron exchanged a few words, the wine god scoffing slightly before taking a step down from the stage center. The centaur moving up to replace him.
"All right, everyone. I am sure all of you are elated, that our heroes have returned in triumph." There was a resounding applause, "But there is one among us, who has shown their bravery, and heroism in this quest." He pointed out to the crowd, while I silently prayed that he didn't single me out. "Percy Jackson! Son of The Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses, The Sea God, Poseidon!" he called out. Everyone clapped and yelled out in response, people patted him on the back, and further congratulated him. While I breathed a sigh of relief, clapping and smiling, as I relaxed again. And then as the applause began to die down, he kept speaking.
"But there is yet another, who is proven themselves. Proven, their bravery, there loyalty, and there courage." I closed my eyes as I receded farther into the shadows of the wall behind me. But I didn't have to look to know that Chiron was now pointing towards me. "Y/n L/n! Son of the World Mother, The Ground Shaker, The Ruler of Nature, The Primordial of the Earth, Gaia!"
For a moment everyone was quiet, an air of apprehension permeating through the area. Everyones judging eyes on me. I felt like crawling in a hole and dying. But after a moment or two, something unexpected happen. People started clapping. Applauding even, and after that there were yells, of elation. People walking up to me and congratulating me, and supporting me. I was astounded, I could hardly fathom it happening. In all of my years, I had never wanted to be the center of attention. I didn't think I'd enjoy it or even find myself wanting it. But now I had to admit, it felt nice.
Soon I was no longer sitting on the sidelines, I was pulled into the action. Singing, and celebrating with everyone at camp. I had never really fully done that before. I just preferred the calm, quiet of being on the side. But now I was at the center, and I did something I never expected to in that scenario. I enjoyed myself.
Later, after the party had died down, with the campers filing back to their cabins, I caught Chiron on his way back to the big house.
"Chiron!" I yelled, as I approached him
He turned slightly from his walk down the trail, to face me. "Ah, Y/n my boy. What is it that you need?"
I went to speak but found that there were too many things that I wanted to ask. And frankly I didn't know how to ask them. So I simply said: "Mind if I join you on your walk back?"
"Not at all, my dear boy."
I nodded, and I followed along beside him. Sharing a moment of a silence with him before speaking. Taking in the feel of the early nights air, and the presence of open nature around us. It was calming, and it reminded me of home. I exhaled lightly, as I turned towards Chiron and spoke.
"You didn't have to do that."
He smirked slightly. "No I did not, but I felt that you needed it. Get you out of your shell, and all of that."
I nodded again, unsure of how to really respond. But eventually I decided to settle for what I really wanted to say.
"Thank, you."
He didn't reply with words, he simply nodded back. Taking my thanks in silence as we continued walking. And in a way that was the best thing he could have done.
I exhaled again. That same feeling of the air and nature around me returning. That presence that reminded me of home, of my mother, and my father. I sighed, turning back towards Chiron unsure of how to voice my question but continuing regardless.
"Chiron, did you. . . did you. . .?" I trailed off unsure if I really should be asking this. But as I debated with myself internally, Chiron settled it for me.
"Yes child, I knew your father."
I felt the breath catch in my throat.
"You did?"
I looked over at him, trying to gauge his reactions. But his face remained neutral, like he was attempting to hold back any hint he may let slip.
"Yes, a long time ago. No one here is old enough to remember it, Mr. D himself had not even been put in charge at the time. But I do, I remember it quite clearly."
For a moment an air of sadness broke through his stature. "He was your age when I found him. No, explanation, no warning, and no family. Just a scared young child hiding in our woods. How he managed to get in without anyone noticing is still beyond my understanding, but at the time I hardly questioned it." he sighed, "I brought him out of the forest of the camp. Cleaned him, tended to his wounds, and listened. I tried to ask him where he had come from, who he was, and where his family had gone. But he only ever gave me his name, and a story. A fairy tale of sorts."
I looked back at him, slightly taken a back as he continued.
"Once long ago there was a woodsman. He lived quietly in the forest where he was content to live out his days peacefully within the quiet serenity of nature. But then a maiden came to him in his dreams. She was beautiful and the woodsman was entranced by her. That night in his dreams they held each other close. Spoke quiet comforting words to one another. And shared their love. But when he awoke there was no one there. No beautiful maiden. No warm touch. No soft-spoken words. No one to love. And the woodsman realized just how lonely his life really was. He went days in solemn sadness. Walking the trails of the forest he had once found beauty and peace in. But now all he could do was wish for someone to be there beside him. Someone he could love. He prayed and begged. Wishing with all his might that the woman in his dreams could share in his life. And one day the gods answered his prays. She appeared at the door of his cabin. As lively as a forest. Bright as the sun. And as beautiful as a rose. And the woodsman was as happy as he could ever think to be. Their life together was wonderful and magical. Every day a new adventure. Their love the only thing needed to sustain them. And soon something sprouted from that love. A child. And the woodsman thought his life was complete. A life more perfect than he thought ever possible. It was bliss. But it wasn't meant to last. She couldn't stay. She had to return to the world she left behind. But the woodsman wouldn't let her go. She tried to explain that she had to return to that world. But that she loved him and their child, but she simply could not stay, and they could not follow. The woodsman couldn't understand, nor did he want to understand. But he could do nothing as she left. Watching as his world started to fall down around him. Still he tried to move on. Continue his life and raise his child. But it would never be the same. It could never be the same."
I felt tears begin to trickle down my face, as I tried to keep myself from shaking.
Chiron then turned towards me as he stopped on the trail. A warm smile spread across his face as he spoke. "Sound familiar?"
I wiped the water from my eyes, sniffling slightly. "The fairy tale he used to tell me." I exhaled. "All this time I thought that I had been the child of the story. But it was him, it was always him."
Chiron, held his smile as he shook his head softly. "Not exactly my dear boy. The child was not you and it was not your father. It was both of you."
I smirked through my last fallen tears. "I guess it was."
He chuckled softly as he continued. "But as your father continued through camp. Living out months within the confines of this valley. I saw him fall further and further into a deep sadness. He'd spend hours out in that forest, simply staring off into the distance. Waiting for an adventure a journey that would never come."
I felt myself choke up even more, as I was reminded of the confines of my own home. My longing gazes out past that forest, yearning for something more. I steadied myself once again as Chiron continued.
"One day I approached him, concerned for his well being. I tried to ask him why he felt the way he did. And what I could do as a mentor to help." he sighed. "But the only answer I ever received was, 'I want to know how it ends.'"
A warm breeze passed by me, burshing against the side of my head. It was like I could feel my fathers hand against the side of my head. The memory of him tucking that rose behind my ear, flooding back to me as I turned back to Chiron.
"I'd ask him what end he was talking about. But he and I both knew what he meant, the only thing he could mean. And the next day, he was gone. Disappeared from camp without a trace. I'd ask his cabin mates at the Hermes cabin, the naiads , and the nymphs in the forest, anyone I could think of. But he was gone, and I had no hope of finding home. Another hero lost to the pages of history."
He sighed deeply, and now I could clearly feel an air of deep sorrow radiating off of Chiron. Not just a sadness for my father, but a sadness for every hero he had ever trained. People, that no matter what he did, always found a tragic end, or simply faded away, never finding a purpose, while he was left alive. Never aging, never dying, always there to mentor the next generation. Forever.
He exhaled recollecting himself as he continued. "Despite it all, I still hoped. Hoped that he would find the end of his fairy tale, his happily ever after. And it seems in a way he did."
Chiron stopped along the trail, turning back towards me fully, as he bowed his head. Placing his hands on my shoulders gently, as yet another smile replaced that forlorn sadness.
"He found it in you."
And as I looked up at him I couldn't help but smile too. Wiping the tears from my eyes as I responded. "I guess he did."
He nodded encouragingly, "Remember that Y/n, that your father was able to find his happy ending. And though he may have faced tribulations and hardships, he pushed on to see you. To find you. Don't look back on your father and think of the things he was put through, the mistakes he might have made, but think of the memories. The joy, the bliss, the happiness. Believe in it, believe that he found what he was looking for, believe that you can too."
I could hardly, put my appreciation, the emotions I was feeling into words. I could only look up at him, and nod.
"I will."
And he smiled. "I know you will."
He then let his hands fall from my shoulders, as he turned back around, continuing down the trail. And eventually we reach the Big House, I gave Chiron my thanks, and goodbyes, as he disappeared inside. While I smiled all the while, continuing back down the trail, content.
On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hepahaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blast would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. I didn't really believe that was possible, so me and Percy basically agreed that it must just be magic. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who could crackle to life above the ocean fight a battle then explode into a million colors.
As Annabeth, Percy, and I were spreading a picnic blanket, Grover showed up to tell us good-bye. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks he'd started to look older, almost high-school age. His goatee had gotten thicker. He'd put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had has rasta cap all the time to pass as human.
"I'm off," he said. "I just came up to say . . . well, you know."
I tried to feel happy for him. After all, it wasn't every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye. He was our flying goat, and none of us wanted to see him gone.
Annabeth gave him a hug. She told him to keep his fake feet on. I did the same, and told him to keep a tree branch handy, just in case.
Percy asked him were he was going to search first.
"Kind of a secret," he said, looking embarrassed. "I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan . . ."
"We understand." Annabeth said. "You got enough tin cans for the trip?"
"Yeah."
"And you remembered your reed pipes?"
"Jeez, Annabeth," he grumbled. "You're like an old mama goat."
But he didn't really sound all that annoyed.
He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker, you'd see across the country. Nothing like, that scrawny goat boy, I'd seen on the porch when I first got here. He'd grown so much.
"Well," he said, "wish me luck."
He gave Annabeth and I another hug, then clapped Percy on the back then headed back across the hills.
Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington (who by the way was a son of Athena) crossing the Delaware.
"Hey, Grover," Percy called.
He turned at the edge of the woods.
"Wherever you're going-I hope they make good enchiladas."
"And quality tin cans." I added.
Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him.
"We'll see him again," Annabeth said.
I tried to believe it. The fact that no searcher had ever come back in two thousand years . . . well, I decided not to think about that. Grover would be the first. He had to be.
The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.
The campers had one last meal together. We burned part of our dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.
I got my own necklace, and when I saw the bead for my first summer, I was thankful the firelight disguised my flushed face. The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident and a forest green spear crossed at the center.
"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God and the first Son of the Earth Mother at this camp. And the quest they both undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"
The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares's cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause.
I'm not sure I'd ever felt more happy than at that moment. I thought I'd lost the only family I had ever known, but I had discovered a new one. I'd survived, and now I really had a reason to really start living my life. I felt content, and overjoyed.
The next morning I woke up lying against Thalia's tree. Percy told me I should really start sleeping in the Poseidon cabin, and in a real bed, but for some reason I still felt the most comfortable outside, under that tree. I yawned and stretched out, standing up as I straightened my gray jacket. When suddenly I felt a familiar warm feeling against my chest. I couldn't help but smile, as I reached inside my jacket pocket, only to pull out that very same rose. My mother's presence seemed to wash over me again, that warm breeze, and air of serenity, like a comforting embrace.
And I finally felt that I had the courage to do something, I hadn't dared to in a long time. I raised the flower to my head. Brushing back my h/c hair as I tucked the pink rose behind my ear. And as I looked out upon the camp valley below me. The place, where I had truly found my home, the place I belonged. I couldn't help but shed one solemn tear.
I sighed as I turned back to the tree, pressing my hand lightly against it as I prepared to set out for the day. Just when I noticed something placed on a nearby rock. I knelt down, and picked up a letter.
Dear Y/n L/n,
If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit. Have a nice day!
Mr. D (Dionysus), Camp Director, Olympian Council #12
The urgency, and the threat in the letter should have frightened me, but for some reason it only made me smile more. I chuckled lightly to myself, as I readjusted my dirk in its sheath, which even now was just a little less frightening. And I began making my way down the hill, towards the Big House.